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Chapter 6: Angels, Demons, Humans

"Who are you?" Edward asked after drinking the water. It was sweet and the taste lingered… He had never imagined that death could be sweet. That there suddenly would be no pain… that there would be someone to meet him on the other side. Strangely, he felt no regret.

The man sitting on the side on his bed shook his head. It didn't surprise Edward at all – he hadn't quite bethought what he was asking, and now that he finally got to that part, it seemed natural that an angel wouldn't introduce himself… or herself, but this angel was an obvious 'him'. Funny, how he had always pictured angels dressed. Although this man, with his wild appearance, messy dark hair, slightly-insane emerald eyes and an assortment of hideous scars would look positively ridiculous in a long flowing white dress.

"It's alright. I understand. Do… do you know what happened to my brother?"

Another shake of the head. The angel had a strange mark the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. Edward hadn't noticed before, because it was covered by the messy hair.

"Well… are we going?" he said uncertainly. He had no idea what to do now – would he just be left to live here in the shadowy afterlife? Was there Heaven? Was there Hell?

Was there Purgatory? Because he felt like that would be the proper place for him… if the last week wasn't enough of a Purgatory. But whatever was waiting for him, he was sure he wouldn't have to face it in this state. He had seen Wrath's death – the kid's spirit's incorporation was whole. There were no missing limbs, no signs of the crushed backbone, no missing ripped flesh… He had always imagined that if there was an afterlife for him, he was going to face it as a complete human…

The black-haired being closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. Edwards eyes widened.

"What? Why- I don't know what- Tell me what am I supposed to do."

The man opened those dazzling green eyes and seemingly pierced Edward with his gaze. Then he nodded, stood up, and limped to the door.

"Wait! Don't leave me alone… I've been… alone… so long."

The angel raised his hand, palm turned to Edward. He had no idea what it meant, but even with the pain gone, he couldn't move, so there was no way for him to stop the being from leaving.

o

'Draco! Get here! I need you-ur help…'

"Harry? Haree! I can make a lot of things sleeeep…"

Harry bit his lip. He didn't even attempt to force a smile. He knew he couldn't do it.

He braced himself and focused on the most pressing matter – he needed to speak to the boy. Trouble was that, since he was a Muggle, Harry couldn't use Legilimency. Therefore he needed Draco as a medium. Which could turn out to be playing with fire, because he wasn't sure whether he could control the blonde…

"Do you want me to make something sl-"

'No. Come with me. I need you to talk to the boy, but be careful; he mustn't know that we are wizards. Do you think you can do it?'

Draco smiled dazzlingly and it clenched Harry's heart.

"I will do it, Harry. Everything that you want me to do. I will take care of you…"

'I know, love. Come.'

Harry blinked several times to stop his eyes from burning and clasped Draco's hand, inconspicuously lightening him of two wands. Draco didn't notice; he leant forwards and kissed Harry with passion that totally defied the overal childish behaviour. The kiss was unbelievably empty and completely one-sided and for a while Draco stiffened, shocked and trying to make out what was wrong, why was Harry so… so uninvolved. But there wasn't much to change about that now. Maybe if Poppy was there… but Poppy wasn't there and he had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to see the matron again.

Startled speechless, Draco pulled back and looked at him with those wondering grey eyes. They were large, like a child's eyes; quite different from the slits the blond used to be scrutinising him through. But all the darkness from them disappeared. They shone.

Draco's forehead creased, but he seemed to have made up his mind, leant forward, and gave Harry a chaste kiss on his lips. This time Harry forced the smile.

'Come.'

o

Once again alone in the room, Edward hugged himself with his left hand. When the tips of his fingers touched the remains of his automail, sharp pain shot through his body and he gasped, biting his lip.

'Why do I feel pain in death? It was not supposed to be like that, it-

Unless…'

Much sooner than he anticipated him to, the naked angel returned… with the clothed blonde from before virtually hanging on his arm and totally disregarding the strain it was putting on the wounds… a few of them ripped open, letting small rivulets of blood escape and run down the gaunt body. A few years ago it would have made him sick. Now, he just felt a weird sympathy.

"Um… hi," said the blonde, tilting his head to the side and sat down on the edge of Edward's bed. The dark-haired man stood behind his back and put a hand on his upper arm, as though preventing him from trying and touching the broken boy.

Edward was grateful.

"I… am not dead, am I."

The green-eyed one shook his head and smiled sadly.

Ed sighed.

"Damn. Can't say I haven't been looking forward to it…"

"Shut up, Potter, I could think of that one myself. Look, what do you mean I'm talking too much? But that doesn't mean I cannot think while talking, though… could you get one of those apples for me? Pity. Could use one, anyway-" the blonde turned to Ed, who had the feeling that he was missing something crucial here, "sorry we barged in like that. We're kinda in need, he… Potter was dying outside on the pavement and I thought that whoever lived here it would be better than just let that idiot bleed in the street… so I blasted your lock, but I guess I'll be able to repair it, and if not me than Potter will be cause Potter can do pretty much everything, bloody omnipotent saviour- Ouch!"

The dark-haired man – Potter – squeezed the blonde's arm. It couldn't have been really painful, but it served to stop the rain of words that somehow failed to be absorbed by Ed's brain. He couldn't see any sense in the monologue… just that they broke into the house because one of them needed help.

To tell the truth… it was alright with him. Even though, hadn't they come in, he would have been mercifully dead by now and… Al would be alone.

"Thanks," he said quietly, looking at the palm of his left hand. It was criss-crossed with scars – for a moment of irrationality he realised that his life-line was cut through on several spots.

"You're welcome, says Potter," replied the blonde, "and he thanks you too."

'Yeah, I suppose that in a way we saved each other… Equivalent Exchange… I wish Al was here. He-' Ed's eyes widened with realisation.

"What's the day today?"

"We have no idea, mate. We've been in the sewers like… a week, maybe. And before a few days in the Highs, and before… where have we been before? Oh, sure. Talkin' to Nessie, but she's a bitch. You won't get me to try and catch that monster again, cause I sure as Hell ain't going. We've been out of London like month or so-"

"London?" Edward gasped. These people were… from beyond the Gate! And they somehow came through… or was it him who came through?

No, it was them – the room they were in was his own; he knew it too well to mistaken it. There was the too familiar crack in the ceiling he had been staring at for hours, trying to fall asleep…

"Yeah, London, like the capital of UK. Like-"

"How did you open the Gate? Have you closed it? Or is it still open? We've got to…"

The blonde looked baffled. Potter bit his lip in what seemed to be a sign of him thinking.

"What is 'the Gate'? For-" he was stopped from rambling by another squeeze of his arm. Ed lay back; he felt drained and – paradoxically – wanted to sleep. And then find out what the date was and where the Hell was Alphonse.

"It connects the two worlds. I don't really know what it is. A passage, or… a storage for everything that gets out. I have no idea. I just know there's… never mind. I don't think it's meant for us to understand."

Potter nodded and glanced at the blonde, who spoke.

"We didn't open 'the Gate'; at least not consciously."

'What kind of connection do they have to be able to do that?'

When he finally abandoned the subject of the wordless communication between the two men and gave it some thought, it was pretty obvious that these two couldn't have opened the Gate. It took a genius in Alchemy years of studying (objectively) and if they didn't even know what the Gate was… Being from 'other side' they were, naturally, unable to study Alchemy. Someone must have sent them over.

"See, I've got absolutely no idea how did we get here and why and what is this place and- Potter says we got lost in the 'spatio-temporal continuum', I've got not a clue what he means – where did you learn such words? You know, Severus would be proud-"

The blonde shut up as the entire house started to quake. Edward caught a glimpse of the enraged scowl on Potter's face as the light flickered and died out…

"Oh-y," mumbled somebody quietly and a while later the light returned.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, you know I didn't mean to…" the blonde poured out and threw himself around Potter's middle, hugging him and burying his face in his belly. Potter reopened his eyes and gazed at Edward, while his right hand moved up to stroke the back of the blonde's head.

'What the Hell are you!'

The blonde looked up.

"D-don't be afraid," he said through tears, "w-we w-won't hurt you. W-we j-just n-need a p-place… to stay in. At least till the morning. Could we please…"

A pair of emerald eyes was piercing him; they were too deep and Edward got lost. He remembered the feeling when he saw them for the first time… he had no idea who or what 'Potter' was, but the fact that Ed now knew he was human didn't make him any less… mysterious. He still had the aura of eternity around himself; not the kind of ancient, cold, emotionless, killing eternity of Homunculi… this was… chaos. Potter was filled with chaos that scared and attracted Edward at the same time… he didn't remember anything like that from the Gate.

He shivered.

"Stay," he whispered. He still wasn't able to take care of himself; he needed Al and Winry, but to get them he needed somebody to call them… he could trade that for letting these two men in his house.

"O-thank you, we… I… I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." The blonde extended his hand – his right hand. Ed looked at him with scowl, but he couldn't muster any real anger. Another squeeze of Malfoy's arm and his eyes flickered towards Potter. The blonde's mouth formed a small 'o' and his hand lowered. He uncertainly looked back and forth, as though asking for instructions.

Then Ed belatedly remembered.

"I'm Edward Elric."